Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 255 Cicada Chirping
"Qin people..."

“It’s actually very conservative.”

At last,
Shang Yang couldn't stand He Bo's annoyance anymore, so he sat cross-legged opposite him and told him his analysis.

He Bo asked, "But you were the one who made the Qin Law, and you advocated for reform. Among the Qin rulers of all dynasties, there were few who adhered to the laws of their ancestors?"

Shang Yang stared and said, "That's just a small change!"

"Have you seen how much they've changed in terms of big things?"

Since the time of Duke Xian,
The eldest son succeeded to the throne.
Even if Wu passed the throne to Zhaoxiang, it was a proper case of "the younger brother succeeds the elder brother".

When it comes to "going east", there has never been any change in direction.

Shang Yang then sighed again, "Besides, how can the dead control the living?"

"I established the military merit system to encourage soldiers and promote brave generals, but how many of the officials in high positions now are of commoner origin?"

Shang Yang carried out reforms and determined ranks based on military merit, which were divided into twenty levels.

During the reign of Duke Xiao,

When the reform was first completed, in order to demonstrate the determination to reform, some civilians were indeed promoted. They were given titles of officials or even promoted to high positions based on their military merits.

But as of today,
Based on their military merits, civilians can basically only reach the fourth level of nobility and cannot rise any higher.

Because even the highest-ranking titles will always be occupied by noble people.

Although the more noble one is, the higher the title one occupies.

But the many descendants born by the noble also need arrangements.

No matter how low they fall in social status, under the protection of their ancestors' glory, they are treated much better than the common people who started from scratch.

"Where in the world is there a dynasty that will last forever, or a system that will last forever?"

"When the First Emperor was alive, he wanted to explore a new path besides this dead end, but he was powerless to do so."

Relocated 500,000 people to the south,

He also sent hundreds of thousands of men to the north.
The original intention of the First Emperor was to screen out the remnants of the six kingdoms that had taken root in the Central Plains, and then purge them, freeing up their land and giving it to the old Qin people as "land granted for military merit."

He knows where his base is.

I know very well:
If he failed to appease the soldiers in time, he would not have to work hard to explore new ways to govern the country.

But soon,

He found it difficult to implement the policy of "letting the people cultivate their own land", let alone granting land to them.

Local officials,

Many of them are the survivors of the Six Kingdoms.

How could they be willing to give their land to the hateful Qin people?

And the nobles in Guanzhong,
How could they be willing to give up such fertile land to the lowly and humble people?
Therefore, the First Emperor frequently went on tours.
On the one hand, it was to intimidate all kinds of evil spirits in the local area, and on the other hand, it was to directly contact the local area and deal with the issue of land granting.

but now,
The First Emperor has gone.
Fusu has not yet changed his mindset——

During the 30 years of experience of the Second Emperor, although he had seen many storms, few of them had affected him.

He hasn't realized yet.
How terrible it is to step into the muddy water.

"That's why Bai Qi said: 'A merciful army cannot be commanded.'"

“That statement really makes sense.”

He Bo shook his head and said, "When you encounter some things or some people, you really have to be a little ruthless."

Shang Yang hung his head in depression, knowing that the world would be in chaos again in the next few years.

Subsequently,

A bug flew over, landed on the ghost's head, and made crazy noises.

He Bo carefully held it and placed it in front of his eyes.

“It’s a cicada!”

"But it's only late spring, how did it get out of the soil?"

Shang Yang replied casually, "This is the area south of the Huai River, and the climate is always hotter than that on the other side of the Huai River."

"So it's reasonable that cicadas start to move earlier than in the north."

Then the ghost remembered something and laughed, "Indeed!"

"The cicadas in Chu are always more active than those in other places!"

He loosened his fingers.

The cicada that first poked its head out of the soil and lost its direction fell back into the haystack next to it.

It continued to scream.

The sound spread quickly.
This attracted the cicadas nearby to chirp as well.

He Bo can see that

More and more cicadas are crawling out from the dark corners and walking into the sunshine.

……

"It's really noisy!"

Summer,

Hei Zhuang, who had taken off his mourning clothes and returned to the court, heard the lively chirping of cicadas as soon as he entered the court.

He raised his head and complained with dissatisfaction to the big tree with many cicadas crawling on it.

When he got home, Hei Yi came to tell his father, "Your Majesty is unwilling to do that kind of thing."

Just as the old ministers in the court were trying to force the mild-mannered Emperor Ershi to seize power, Hei privately advised Fusu:
"Kill all those disrespectful officials!"

Fusu was very surprised at that time.

If it weren't for the fact that Hei was a close minister to two generations of emperors, and Hei was his father-in-law, he would have thought that the other party was a sinister and cunning person. "Why do you say that?"

Fusu subconsciously wanted to refuse.

Because his virtue does not support such rude and wild tyranny.

But in the end, he still gave Heizhuang a chance to explain.

The old minister Hei Zhuang sat opposite the emperor in a very serious manner and said to him: "When the First Emperor was alive, he was always worried about the affairs of the court and the country."

"I am worried that after I die, many people will come to oppose your rule."

Fusu remembered the last time he saw his father and his expression became sad.

He nodded and said, "That's right."

So Hei Zhuang said, "Judging from the current situation, what the First Emperor was worried about has already happened."

"In order to prevent the situation from getting out of control, Your Majesty, please use thundering means to control the court first, and then go to appease the local people."

Since Fusu ascended the throne,

Many topics have been raised:
For example, releasing too many laborers and slaves and encouraging people to engage in farming and production.

In addition, old soldiers who had been guarding the border for many years were allowed to return home, slowing down the construction of major projects such as the Great Wall and the Straight Road, and reducing the burden of corvée on the people.

He abolished various miscellaneous taxes levied on Emperor Qin Shihuang because of his large-scale construction projects, and encouraged frugality among the emperor and his subjects in order to enrich the country and the people.

He also brought up the issue of Confucianism and Legalism again, and discussed with his ministers which one, namely, feudal fiefdom or county system, was more in line with the current national conditions.

Frankly speaking,

There is nothing wrong with Fusu's idea.

The Qin Dynasty inherited hundreds of years of turmoil during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and needed to reduce taxes and levies and give the people a rest.

But the premise of doing so is,

The world is already peaceful.

But now, the remnants of the six kingdoms have not been eliminated, and many local people still miss the six kingdoms, and their hearts have not been completely won over.

In the court room,
The powerful ministers who no longer have the suppression of the First Emperor are also eager to try.

They would not go so far as to directly break off relations with the Second Emperor and engage in tit-for-tat confrontation.

However, it is possible to delay the discussion of national affairs for a longer period of time and gradually weaken the emperor's determination to govern.

Until now,

There were quarrels in the court,
It was just a matter of replacing some garrison soldiers and releasing some civilians.

In national affairs, there has been no change at all.

Black worries,

They kept delaying like this.

This will give the remnants of the six kingdoms in the local area an opportunity to take advantage.

then,

He made such a suggestion to Fusu regardless of his own reputation.

But Fusu did not agree at that time.

Now Hei Yi complies with his father's request and often goes to the palace to advise the emperor, but still has no results.

For this,

Hei Zhuang could only sigh.

"Since you and I can't persuade him, we can only rely on the Crown Prince and the Queen."

"I hope they can persuade the emperor to make up his mind and not be bound by the gentleman's spirit anymore."

"My sister has advised me."

Hei Yi thought of his visit to the palace these days and his meeting with Queen Sha, and he also started to look sullen.

"It's a pity that Your Majesty was persuaded back by Chunyu Yue again!"

Fusu's opinion of his wife,

In fact, it is very important.

When Sha angrily stood in front of him with her hands on her hips and scolded the ministers for being "disrespectful" to the emperor, Fusu did waver.

So he went to discuss with his teacher, thinking that the other party would support him.

After all, replacing law with Confucianism and promoting benevolent governance has been the long-cherished wish of Confucian scholars.

When Chunyu Yue heard that the queen was involved in this matter, he immediately said, "How can a woman meddle in politics?"

"If Your Majesty wants to change the country's policies because of a woman's advice, I dare not obey you!"

With tears in his eyes, he recounted many examples of "the rooster crowing at dawn", which eventually left Fusu helpless.

Hei Zhuang was only angry when he heard this, "You old bastard!"

"He is from Qi and grew up in an era when the king and queen were in power. Why didn't he denounce the king and queen for interfering in government affairs?"

"He is using his status as a teacher to deceive the emperor!"

"If there is unrest in the country, I will break into his house and beat this old man to death!"

After all,

He slapped a tree in the yard to vent his anger.

The branches were shaken by his blows.
Another burst of shrill cicada chirping was startled.

Hei Zhuang became more and more annoyed as he listened, so he said to his son, "Go, go catch those damn cicadas for me!"

(End of this chapter)